Generation Three didn't have a series as such. It's a collection of shorts and specials that were released direct to VHS, VCD, and DVD, usually packaged along with certain playsets and other toys. We have a completely new animation studio involved, Sabella Dern Entertainment or just SD, along with a new art style and setting.

The exact order of these is... unknown and possibly irrelevant, as many of them only have a year as a release date and I get the impression that there will be little to no carry-over between shorts. So I'm doing some educated guessing.

As a reminder, I'm not a critic. I'm watching these episodes to find any worldbuilding factoids that would be useful in expanding the My Little Pony world with respect to setting, culture, etc. These are the notes I took while watching the episodes, with minimal editing and a few expansions where I paused the video to go look stuff up.

A Charming Birthday (G3 Direct-to-VHS/VCD Short for release with several G3 toys, 2003, 20 minutes)

Summary: It's Kimono's birthday, and the rest of the ponies want to surprise the unsurprisable.

Here we go... Art style is oddly simplified in a way. The bodies now proportioned like G4, but the heads are still G1ish. The black outlines on *everything* is a bit jarring to tell the truth. It looks like the way I draw as I haven't gotten the hang of colored outlines.

Honestly, the architecture reminds me of the main blood elf city in World of Warcraft. Bridges all over the place, random obelisks, manicured 'wild' gardens. The buildings are cartoony versions of timber-frame Tudor, with fish scale shingle roofs which was a popular Victorian style.

For all the simplification of the art-style a lot of effort is put into 'animating' every little bit of it. Every lock of hair is wibbling around.

I'm going to get real tired of Razaroo's speech pattern real quickly. Yes yes yes? I'm aware that this is an actual verbal tic that many people suffer from. Though it's normally 'no no no' as I understand it.

This dessert shop and surround reminds me of Seaside, Oregon. Basically a tourist town with a variety of colourful arcades, docks, beaches, etc.

All earth ponies again, and all mares so far. Well, at least the voices sound like mares. I may be mistaken there.

Razaroo is this generation's Pinkie Pie as the 'party pony' it seems. I know Pinkie Pie exists in this generation, so we'll eventually get to see her.

Wysteria - The Posey/Fluttershy equivalent?

"Have you seen the sun today? It's *absolutely* yellow!" Sunny Daze is looking like best G3 pony so far, if she can say that kind of thing and honestly mean it.

Okay, that's not a little suggestive. No points lost for Sunny there.

Hey Rainbow Dash! Darling!

Hey Pinkie Pie! She knows a lot about a lot of things... uh...

Kimono is rapidly closing in on Sunny Daze as best pony. That sarcasm *drips*.

Random dance number. No song, just a dance number.

There's the ubiquitous hot-air balloon that every generation seems to need.

Jeezus, those are huge flowers.

They're... harvesting rainbows?

Again with the 16th-17th century Alpine-style castle.

Alright, they spent a lot of time introducing ten ponies in this 'short' so very little actually happened.